GOLF’S SET-UP ESSENTIALSIt’s important to recognise that set-up essentials like grip, posture, and how you stand to the ball have a huge bearing on where you will be at impact and the resulting ball flight.

Check your gripYour grip is the main controlling factor in what the clubface does at impact – strong grips generally close the clubface to target and weak grips generally open it. Many golfers who hit big hooks have a strong grip in which the left hand sits too much on top of the club and the right hand too much underneath.

Grip, posture and how you stand to the ball are all important factors at set-uo

The opposite is true of slicers, who typically have a weak grip – the left hand sits too much under the grip and right hand too much on top. This isn’t always the case as some golfers are able to compensate with their wrist angles, but if you’re struggling with a troublesome ball flight, check your grip first.

Shoulder position at addressMany golfers suffer from a slice, especially with the driver, and generally it’s because the path moving to the left of the target line with the clubface open to both path and target line.

If both shoulders sit more or less at the same height at address – so your left shoulder isn’t higher than your right – they will also be open to the target, encouraging a swing path too much off to the left.

Conversely, if your right shoulder is too low, you’ll close your shoulders too much and encourage a swing path too much from inside to out, which can cause a hook.

If the right shoulder is too low you’re likely to swing too much from in to out

You can alter your ball flight surprisingly quickly just by adjusting what your body and shoulders are doing at address.